Today’s photography challenge was to take a photo of something smooth. This sent me to my jewellery box where I found this brooch, given to me by a patient at the dental office where I worked before retiring. I’m sorry to say I can’t remember his name, but I do remember his face very clearly. I also remember that he had the firmest handshake of anyone I’d ever met. I know he’d once been in the navy, because he’d shared a photo of himself, in his naval uniform with me and my co-workers. He was a much older man by that time, and was learning lapidary, the art of cutting, polishing, and engraving stones. I’m taking part in this photography challenge to improve my photo taking skills, but each day I find myself learning something new about the world around me, and being reminded of people and things I haven’t thought about in years. Tomorrow’s topic is A is for. I wonder what will tomorrow bring?

I took this photo today during my early morning walk. There is a big storm brewing in Baja California, and we are seeing the effects, with higher than usual humidity and interesting cloud cover.

I’m always amazed at how empty the streets are early in the morning.
Where is everybody?
Once back home, I had a nice bowl of oatmeal, banana, and a few Brazil nuts. So good. Today’s photo challenge topic was morning. I think I covered it. Tomorrow the challenge is to photograph something smooth.

Every once in awhile I like to take part in a photo challenge. The suggestion this time was to photograph an animal, so I took a photo of the glass elephant my husband received when he retired from Cal State Fullerton. I did a little editing using Aviary, a photo editing app that I really like using.

This is the same glass elephant from above. I like abstract photography and this certainly can be called that. I had fun creating these two photographs. Hope you enjoy seeing them. The photography challenge subject for tomorrow is GRASS.

I brought my Portulaca, also known as the Moss Ross Flower, into the house this afternoon, for a grooming and shower. The portulaca blooms in summer and early fall, preferring light watering and a sunny exposure. It’s also drought tolerant, a real plus in southern California. Mine grows in a plant pot, and is easy to move to a sunny location in the winter as the sun shifts its position. Portulaca is know as a hardy annual, but in most of California it grows like a perennial, lasting more than one season.

Sometimes I bring smaller plants inside as I did this morning. The only problem is that I sometimes bring in a hitchhiker like the little spider in the above photo. I hope you can see him in the middle of the picture. Don’t worry, I took him back outside when I returned the plant to its usual spot in the garden. Portulaca comes in a variety of colors and is a cheery addition to any garden.